Introducing QB Country’s 2023 NFL Draft Prep Class

The 2023 QB Country NFL Draft Prep class features ten of the most talented and decorated performers in college football. From the 2023 CFP national championship MVP to the Walter Payton Award winner, here’s the list of athletes currently preparing with QB Country for the next chapter of their football careers:

Stetson Bennett, Georgia (QB)
A two-time CFP national champion as a starter and 2022 Heisman finalist, Stetson earned offensive MVP honors of both the 2022 and 2023 CFP national championship games. He is the winner of the 2022 Manning Award honoring the nation’s top quarterback and the Burlsworth Trophy honoring the country’s outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on. He was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award honoring the nation’s top college quarterback. During the 2022 season he collected numerous weekly honors, including Walter Camp National Player of the Week, Manning Award Quarterback of the Week, and the Davey O’Brien Great 8 Award. (He was a national semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award.)  He led Georgia to the 2022 SEC Championship game, throwing for 214 yards and four TDs before halftime in a 50-30 victory and captured game MVP honors. He holds the record for most passing yards in a single season in Georgia program history. He finished his stellar collegiate career with a 28-3 record as a starter.

Holton Ahlers, East Carolina (QB)
During Holton’s record-breaking career as a four-year starter at ECU, he set program marks for passing yards (13, 927), total offensive yards (15,373), passing touchdowns (97), touchdowns responsible for (122), completions (1127), pass attempts (1857) and rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (25). He also holds records for single game passing yards (535 yards) and TD passes (six, twice) and single-season passing efficiency rating (151.1). He holds American conference records for  total offensive yards, completions, passing yards, pass attempts and touchdowns responsible for. After lighting up the Birmingham Bowl with a record-setting performance in his final collegiate game and getting bowl MVP honors, Ahlers has posted back-to-back excellent all-star college showcase games in front of national television audiences and NFL scouts. He went 10-for-10 at the Hula Bowl to earn game MVP honors and went 9-of-12 for 189 yards and a score to garner MVP honors at the NFLPA Game.

Austin Aune, North Texas (QB)
An All-CUSA honoree this season, Austin set a North Texas single season record with 33 passing touchdowns. He garnered numerous weekly honors earned during the 2022 campaign, including Manning Award Star of the Week, C-USA Player of the Week, and Tyler Rose Player of the Week. He ranked first among all Division 1 quarterbacks with 15.29 passing yards per completion. Austin led the Mean Green to the C-USA Championship Game and a bowl appearance in his final season and was named a Burlsworth Trophy Nominee honoring the nation’s top college football players who began their careers as walk-ons.

Taylor Powell, Eastern Michigan (QB)
Taylor finished the 2022 campaign with his second consecutive 1000-yard passing season earned MVP honors in leading Eastern Michigan to an historic victory in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Taylor threw for 300 yards and accounted for two TDs as Eastern scored 33 straight points after trailing 13-0 to win its ninth game of the season and first bowl game since 1987. During the season Taylor earned a host of weekly conference and national honors, including the Manning Award and Mid-American Player of the Week.

Lindsey Scott Jr., Incarnate Word (QB)
Incarnate Word quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. won the 2022 Walter Payton Award as the best offensive player in FCS football. A consensus first-team FCS All-American, FCS ADA Player of the Year, and Southland Conference Player of the Year, he is the first UIW player to win the nation’s highest FCS honor in its 36-year history after throwing for 4,686 yards, 60 touchdowns and only eight interceptions, while rushing for 712 yards and 11 touchdowns. He finished the season with a 71% completion percentage. Lindsey led UIW to its first-ever FCS semifinals appearance.

Chris Reynolds, UNC Charlotte (QB)
Charlotte’s all-time passing leader and three-year team captain, Chris earned Conference USA honors in four straight seasons and is a three-time Maxwell Award and Manning Award watch list honoree. He is a two-time semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy honoring the top player in the nation who began his career as a walk-on. Chris owns Charlotte’s career-single-season and single-game records for passing yards, passing TDs, passing efficiency and completion pct. And became the first 49er to surpass 10,000 career passing yards (10,266). His 84 career TDs ranked 8th among all active FBS QBs in 2022. He owns six fourth quarter OT game-winning drives in his career, most among active FBS quarterbacks.

Austin Williams, Mississippi State (WR)
One of the most accomplished receivers in Mississippi State history, Austin was named the 2022 SEC Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year and 2022 Campbell Trophy Finalist. A four year-starter, Austin holds the school record for games played and is among the program’s all-time leaders in receptions, TD receptions and receiving yards. He earned his undergraduate degree in finance in three years and carried a 4.0 GPA throughout his undergraduate program. He is a five-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American, Wuerffel Trophy Semifinalist, and Jason Witten Man of the Year Semifinalist.

Cephus Johnson, SE Louisiana (ATH)
Cephus led SE Louisiana to the FCS playoffs in 2022, overcoming injury to throw for nearly 1400 yards, rushing for almost 500 and accounting for 15 TDs. In an FCS playoff victory over Idaho, he finished with 208 yards on 18-for-28 passing, while rushing for 69 yards and a pair of scores. He was a top performer in the recent Hula Bowl and College Gridiron Showcase college all-star games.

Matthew McKay, Elon (QB)
One of 30 FCS players named to the CFPA National Performer of the Year Watch List, Matthew excelled during the 2022 campaign, starting all 12 games for Elon and posting a quarterback rating of 150.4 on 61% passing and 21 TDs to just 4 INTs. He also ran for 458 yards and three scores. His season-high 333 yards passing came against FBS Vanderbilt. He ran for a season-high 85 yards in a win at William & Mary. He ranked among the top FCS QBs for most of the season and helped Elon to three wins over ranked opponents and its second-highest end of season ranking in program history (No. 17 in FCS coaches poll).

Dresser Winn, UT-Martin (QB)
One of the top FCS quarterbacks in 2022, Dresser helped lead UT Martin to an undefeated Ohio Valley Conference campaign, back-to-back OVC championships, and a Top 25 national ranking. He was one of seven players named to the Walter Payton Award Watch list in season, ranking among the top ten FCS leaders in passing yards per game, total offense, passing yards, completions per game and passing efficiency. He finishes his career with 5,800 passing yards, 5,964 yards of total offense and 37 passing touchdowns – each of which rank fifth in program history. For his efforts, Dresser was named All-OVC second team.